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c.2. 


Grumpier 

Speeds 


fEfyz  ILibtuxp 

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WLnibtx&ity  of  J^ortf)  Carolina 


Collection  of  J^tortti  Carolinians 

Cnbotoeb  bp 

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s 


©f  the  Class  of  1880 

3  f  O.'H 


c.2- 


c    ■ 


S P E EC H 


OF 


T.   N.    CRUMPLER 


OF    ASHE, 


ON    FEDERAL    RELATIONS, 


DELIVERED  IN  THE  HOUSE   OF  COMMONS,  JAN.   10,  186K 


RALEIGH: 

PRINTED    AT    THE    OFFICE    OF   THE    RALEIGH    REGISTER, 
•  1861. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://archive.org/details/speechoftncrumplOOcrum 


SPEECH. 


The  House  being  in  Committee  of  the  Whole  upon  the  considera- 
tion of  the  Bill  to  call  a  Convention,  and  upon  the  Minority  Re- 
port of  the  Committee  on  Federal  Relations,  Mr.  Crumpler  said : 

Me.  Chairman  :  In  rising  to  address  the  Committee  on  the 
momentous  questions  under  consideration,  and  to  reply  to  the 
able  and  distinguished  gentleman  from  New  Hanover,  (Mr. 
Person,)  I  am  not  unmindful  of  my  want  of  experience  in  de- 
liberative debate,  nor  of  th.e  disparity  between  the  ability  I  can 
bring  to  the  task  and  that  of  many  gentlemen  of  this  House : 
but  if,  at  this  time,  when  dark  clouds  drive  up  from  every  quar- 
ter and  shade  the  prospects  of  my  country's  peace  and  happi- 
ness in  a  twilight  of  terror,  were  I  to  remain  silent,  I  should 
feel  that  I  was  untrue  to  myself,  untrue  to  the  loyal  people 
whose  representative  I  am,  and  untrue  to  the .  country.  It 
would  be  idle,  and  worse  than  idle,  to  deny  that  the  country  is 
in  a  most  perilous  condition.  Already  the  disruption  of  the 
Government  is  begun.  One  State  has  declared  herself  out  of 
the  Union ;  others  are  threatening  to  make  the  same  declara- 
tion. Even  while  I  stand  here  speaking,  they  may  have  con- 
summated their  secession  ordinances.  A  revolution  seems  to 
have  commenced,  and,  as  yet,  no  effectual  barrier  to  its  pro- 
gress has  been  erected.  In  North  Carolina,  the  same  spirit 
which  prompted  the  hasty  action  of  those  who  have  inaugurated 
this  revolution  is  at  work. 

I  propose  briefly  to  examine  the  causes  of  the  present  condi- 
tion of  things — not  with  the  purpose  of  saying  that  we  should 
tt[    do  nothing  because  this  crisis  has  been  precipitated  upon  us 
i^     without  just  cause,  but,  if  I  can  succeed  in  showing  that  the 
dangers  Avhich  now  menace^the  Government   are  the  result  of  a 
deliberate  plot  to  destroy  the  Union,  I  shall    the  more   confi- 


vO 


dently  appeal  to  the  patriotism  of  the  country  to  arouse  itself  and 
put  forth  every  exertion  to  defeat  that  plot,  and  save  the  Union. 
Mr.  Chairman,  the  present  unhappy  condition  of  the  country 
is  but  the  result  of  the  programme  laid  down  by  the  disunion- 
ists  at  Charleston,  in  the  National  Convention  held  there  last- 
spring.  "  These  delegates  went  to  Charleston  to  prevent  a  nom- 
ination, and  to  dissolve  the  Union."  I  am  using  the  precise 
words  of  the  Executive  of  our  State.  Conceiving  that  some 
better  excuse  for  disunion  than  any  which  had  yet  arisen  must 
be  made  before  they  could  hope  to  arouse  the  passions  of  the 
Southern  people  and  bind  them  to  their  polic}',  they  set  to  work 
to  bring  that  excuse  into  existence.  They  had,  before  this,  de- 
clared that  the  election  of  any  Republican  to  the  Presidency 
would  furnish  a  sufficient  cause  for  a  dissolution  of  the  Union. 
The  conservative  masses,  who  act  from. the  dictates  of  common 
sense  and  only  take  positions  upon  questions  when  they  arise, 
not  having  said  very  much  in  opposition  to  this  proposition  of 
the  disunionists,  they  supposed  that  they  had  succeeded  in  fix- 
ing this  line  of  policy  firmly  upon  the  public  mind  of  the  South, 
and  that  if  they  could  bring  about  the  election  of  a  Black  Re- 
publican, their  cherished  object — a  dissolution  of  the  Union — 
could  be  effected.  Full  of  these  ideas,  "  they  went  to  Charles- 
ton to  prevent  a  nomination,  and  to  dissolve  the  Union."  About 
that  time,  His  Excellency,  Governor  Ellis,  made  a  prediction  : 
He  told  us  there  would  be  differences  in  the  Convention  at 
Charleston  ;  but  there  would  be  no  disruption  of  the  party. 
And  he  announced  what  he  considered  an  established  fact,  that 
although  the  members  of  the  party  whose  Convention  it  was, 
might  differ,  they  never  divided.  I  take  it  that  His  Excellency 
knew  that  party  well — its  feelings,  its  instincts,  the  moving 
springs  of  its  organization  and  existence,  and  if  there  had  been 
no  other  elements  of  disruption  at  Charleston  than  honest  dif- 
ferences of  opinion,  his  prediction  would  have  been  verified. 
With  the  proud  history  which  that  party  had,  with  the  memory 
of  so  many  common  triumphs,  and  with  such  fair  hopes  of  the 
future,  had  there  not  existed  something  else  which  His  Excel- 
lency, at  the  time  he  made  his  prediction,  was  unconscious  of, 
some  ground  of  adjustment  would  have  been  found.  Had  there 
been  no  dark  plot  behind  the  curtain  ;  had  not  William  L.  Yan- 


3 

cey,  with  lighted  torch  and  drawn  dagger,  stood  ready  to  be 
the  assassin  of  his  country's  peace,  there  would  have  been  no 
disruption  at  Charleston.  But  the  Convention  met ;  the  first 
act  of  the  drama  was  played.  To  my  great  regret,  expressed  at 
the  time,  the  National  Democratic  party,with  whose  unity  the  best 
hopes  of  the  country  were  at  that  time  intimately  connected, 
»was  divided  and  broken  up,  thus  rendering  the  election  of  a  Re- 
publican probable.  That  result  has  been  achieved,  and  these 
gentlemen  now  ask  us  to  dissolve  the  Union  for  the  causes  which 
they  tfiemselvcs  have  been  so  active  in  bringing  about. 

But,  Mr.  Chairman,  it  must  not  be  supposed  that   I  hold  the 
disunionists,  even  the  disunionists  per  se,  to  be  the  only  persons 
responsible  for  the  evils  that  are  upon  us.     There  is  another 
class — the  Abolitionists  of  the  North — who   are  primarily  re- 
sponsible and  most  guilty  in  this  matter.     With  hearts  full  of 
treason  to  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution,  they  have,  for  years, 
been  diggiag   at  the  foundation  of   our  Government.     Filled 
themselves  with  all  that  is  pestilent,  they  are,  and  have  been, 
the  leprous  spot  upon  our  body  politic.     Enemies   of  our  coun- 
try, they  deserve  execration.     Their  mischievous  and  wicked 
acts,  while  benefiting  neither  themselves  or  the  objects  of  their 
hypocritical  sympathies,  have  furnished  the  disunionists  with 
the  materials  for  their  plot  against  the  Union.     It  remains  to 
be  seen  whether  or  not  we  are  to  become  the  victims  of  this  plot. 
Are  the  people  of  North  Carolina,  whose  representatives  we  arey 
prepared  to  carry  out  the  disunion  programme  ?     I  am  satisfied 
that  they  are  not.     It  is  true  that,  at  the  beginning  of  the  ses- 
sion, we  had  some  manifestations  of  disunion  sentiment  from  the 
towns  and  villages  where  combustible  materials  are  most  easily 
gathered  and  excitements  most  readily  manufactured,   but   I 
knew  that  it  was  as  the  glare  of  the  meteor  which  for  a  mo- 
ment lights  up  the  sky  and  attracts  our  gaze  from  the  myriads 
of  stars  which  hold  their  places  and  shine  with  beneficent  light 
upon  the  earth.     I  knew  that  when  the  masses  of  the  people 
waked  up  and  spoke,  when  we  heard  from  the  plough-handles 
and  axe-helves,  we   should  hear  a  different  language ;  and  we 
are  beginning  to  hear  it  in  thek-  remonstrances  against  being 
committed  to  disunion,  which   are   daily  laid   before  our   body. 
The  gentleman  from  New  Hanover  told  us  that  he  intended  to 


be  frank  and  fair  in  the  statement  of  his  position,  and  he  re- 
deemed that  promise.  He  said  that  it  was  important  that  we 
should  know  each  other.  I  concur  with  him  in  that  statement. 
It  is  time  we  knew  each  other :  and  it  is  time  the  people  knew 
us.  I  intend  to  express  my  opinions,  without  reserve,  and  I 
trust  every  gentleman  upon  this  floor  will  imitate  the  candor 
and  frankness  of  the  gentleman  from  New  Hanover,  and  let* 
the  people  know  where  they  stand. 

It  may  not  be  amiss,  Mr.  Chairman,  to  recur  to  the  position 
taken  by  all  parties  daring  the  late  Presidential  canvass,  in  or- 
der that  the  Committee  may  contrast  the  different  positions 
taken  by  members  of  this  House  now,  with  that  position.  I  sup- 
pose it  will  hardly  be  denied  that  then  we  all  told  the  people  we 
were  for  the  Union,  and  that  the  election  of  Lincoln  was  not  to 
be  considered  a  sufficient  cause  for  its  dissolution.  The  Bell 
party  inscribed  "Union"  on  all  its  banners.  The  Douglas  party 
declared  they  would  yield  to  none  in  their  devotion  to  the 
Union.  The  Breckinridge  party  told  us  that  better  Union  men 
than  they  were  nowhere  breathed.  If  there  is  a  Bell  man  here 
who  is  for  secession  or  disunion,  I  tell  him  he  does  not  stand 
where  his  party  stood  when  they  were  before  the  people.  If 
there  is  a  Douglas  man  here  who  favors  disunion,  I  tell  him  he 
does  not  stand  where  his  party  stood  in  the  late  canvass.  If 
there  is  a  Breckinridge  man  upon  this  floor  who  is  for  disunion, 
I  tell  him  he  does  not  stand  where  his  party  did  when  they 
were  before  the  people  for  votes.  I  could  produce  any  amount 
of  evidence  in  support  of  what  I  have  said,  but  I  shall  trouble 
the  Committee  with  only  a  little.  I  have  here  a  pamphlet  en- 
titled, "Who  are  the  Disunionists  ?"  and  marked  "  Breckinridge 
and  Lane  Campaign  Document,  No.  16,"  which  was  widely  cir- 
culated in  this  State.  The  object  of  this  document  was  to  show 
that  neither  the  members  of  that  party  or  its  candidates  were 
disunionists.      It    quotes    from    Mr.   Breckinridge's  speech  as 

follows : 

•'I  am  an  American  citizen — a  Kenluckian,  who  never  did  an  ac  or  cher- 
ished a  thought  that  was  not  full  of  devotion  to  the  Constitution  and  the 
Union." 

It  has  also  the  following  passage  from  a  speech  of  General 
Lane,  which  I  will  read  : 

'•  I  have  been  influenced  from  early  manhood  to  this  moment  by  love  of 
loontrv  ;  and  I  shall  ever  continue  to  bo  a  patriot  and   a  true  friend  of  the 


Constitution  and  the  Union.  Let  no  man  ever  say  that  there  was  any  disu- 
monism  in  the  Convention  which  placed  in  nomination  the  gallant  and  gitted 
Kentuckian,  and  associated  my  name  on  the  ticket,  for  no  living  man  would 
£■0  further  to  preserve  this  Union  than  I  would  ;  none  would  go  further  than 
John  C.  Breckinridge.     The  Union  must  be  preserved.    Itshallbe])reserved.': 

Mr.  Chairman,  if  I  may  be  pardoned  for  a  slight  digression, 

I    must    express  my    gratification  that  Mr.  Breckinridge  has 

maintained  his  position,  that  he  is  still  battling  with  loyal  zeal 

for  the  Union ;  that  he  stands   with  me  and  other  conservative 

men  in  the  fight  we  are  making  to  preserve  the  Government. 

But  this  document,  not  content  with  showing  that  its  own  party 
and  candidates  were  for  the  Union,  but  knowing  that  love  for 
this  Union  was  the  great  chord  in  the  popular  heart  of  North 
Carolina,  which  must  be  rightly  touched  if  they  hoped  to  win, 
it  goes  further  and  charges  that  everbody  else  are  disunionists, 
and  that  there  was  a  plot  among  the  Douglas  and  Bell  men  to 
break  up  the  confederacy  then  existing,  and  establish  several 
others.  I  call  the  attention  of  the  committee  to  the  concluding 
paragraph  of  this  pamphlet.     It  reads  as  follows  : 

"  These  are  ominous  words.  The  plot  is  about  beirg  carried  out.  A  West- 
ern Confederacy,  of  which  Mr.  Douglas  is  to  be  the  head ! 

" A  Southern  Confederacy,  of  which  Johnson,  Bell,  Soule,  Clemens  §  Co., 
are  to  be  the  Chiefs !  The  Northern  Confederacy  will  be  handed  over  to  Lin- 
coln, Seward  §■  Co.  All  these  parties  are  leagued  together  to  compass  Lin- 
coln's election  ;  then  the  Southern  disunionists  supporting  Douglas  and  Bell 
will  raise  the  banner  of  disunion,  and  then  these  Confederacies  are  to  be 
formed  !  This  is  the  plot.  It  was  to  this  end  that  the  Douglas  Executive 
Committee  made  haste  to  denounce  all  attempts  to  bring  together  the  conser- 
vative vote  of  the  country  against  Mr.  Lincoln  !  It  was  to  this  end  that  Mr. 
Douglas  himself  proclaimed  no  fusion — no  coalition,  no  union  with  the 
friends  of  Mr.  Breckinridge  !  This  infamous  conspiracy  ought  to  arouse  the 
patriotism  of  the  country  to  most  superhuman  efforts  to  overthrow  and  thwart 
it.  Let  the  true  Union  men  rally  to  the  rescue — rally  around  the  beleaguered 
flag  of  the  Union  and  the  Constitution,  now  so  gallantly  waving  in  the  hands 
of  the  gifted  and  intrepid  Kentuckian,  and  with  "  linked  shields  and  daunt- 
less steps,  follow  it  to  its  noblest  victory  !" 

I  think  it  must  be  admitted  that  we  all  told  the  people  of  North 

Carolina  in  the  late  canvass  we  were  for  the  Union,  and  that 

it  was  not  to  be  broken  up  if  Lincoln  was  elected.     Is  there 

any  good  reason  why  we.  should  change  our  position  ?    I  believe 

that  so  far  as  the  North  is  concerned,  the  prospect  for  the  full 

recognition  of  Southern  rights  is  better  than  it.  was  at  the  time 

of  Lincoln's  election,  or  at  any  time  within  several  years  before. 

The  Governors  of  several  Northern  States,  including  the  great 

States  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  have  recommended  the 

faithful   observance  of  all  the  laws  intended  for  the  protection 

of  slave  property,   and  the  repeal  of   all  the  personal  liberty 


6 

bills,  and  no  man  who  is  an  attentive  observer  of  events  can 
fail  to  see  that  a  re-action  is  going  on  in  the  northern  mind.  I 
have  not  the  slightest  doubt,  that  if  the  presidential  election  could 
be  reconsidered  to-morrow,  Lincoln  would  be  defeated  by  an 
overwhelming  majority.  Let  us  then  stand  firmly  on  the  posi- 
tion we  took  before  our  constituents.  I  am  not  prepared  to 
yield  that  ground.  I  intend  to  breast  the  storm  and  battle  for  a 
Constitutional  Union  as  long  as  there  is  the  faintest  ray  of  hope. 
I  know  it  is  the  custom  of  South  Carolina  and  her  imitators  to 
taunt  those  who  are  unwilling  to  sanction  their  reckless  policy, 
by  calling  them  submissionists.  Sir,  I  am  willing  to  submit  to 
the  laws  rightfully  enacted  under  the  Constitution  of  my  country ; 
but  he  who  asserts  that  I,  or  the  gallant  Union  men  of  all  parties 
with  whom  I  act  upon  this  quest: 3n,  would  submit  to  anything 
which  subverted  the  rights  or  comprimised  the  honor  of  North 
Carolina,  is  a  slanderer.  I  am  not  to  be  driven  from  the  posi- 
tion I  feel  it  my  duty  to  take  by  any  such  artillery,  and  the 
man  who  will,  at  such  a  time  as  this,  leave  what  he  may  consider 
the  line  of  patriotic  duty  through  fear  of  what  men  may  say 
of  him,  is  a  coward,  unworthy  of  the  humblest  post  among  the 
sentinels  who  guard  the  ramparts  of  freedom.  And  while  I  am 
determined  to  do  my  duty  to  the  whole  country,  I  yield  to  no 
man  in  devotion  to  the  rights  and  honor  of  my  State.  If  the 
evil  must  come,  if  wise  and  moderate  counsels  are  not  to  prevail, 
if  the  bosom  of  my  country  must  be  bared  to  the  ploughshare  of 
civil  war,  I  pledge  myself  to  gentlemen  here  and  now,  when  the 
drum  shall  beat  and  the  bugle  shall  sound,  and  when  the  roar 
of  the  cannon  shall  mark  that  Carnage  has  sat  down  to  his  feast, 
we  will  be  found  as  far  advanced  against  the  broken  ranks  of 
North  Carolina  foes  as  the  most  fiery  spirit  among  them.  In  the 
meantime,  we  do  not  intend  to  see  ourselves  robbed  of  the 
heritage  our  fathers  bequeathed  to  us  without  an  effort  to  avert 
the  calamity. 

But,  Mr.  Chairman,  let  us  see  whether  the  objects  of  the 
authors  of  the  disunion  programme,  are  objects  worthy  of  our 
pursuit,  and  whether  or  not  they  are  sincere.  Prudent  men  do 
not  always  accept  as  pure  truth  every  declaration  which  poli- 
ticians make  as  to  their  motives  ;  and  I  am  unwilling  to  take 
the  declarations  of  the  disunionists  as  to  their  motives  wit!  out 


investigation.  They  say  their  only  motive  is  to  get  rid  of  the 
aggressions  of  the  North.  They  say  the  Fugitive  slave  law  is 
not  faithfully  executed,  and  that  we  cannot  have  our  rights  in 
the  Territories,  and  to  redress  these  grievances,  they  are  going 
to  dissolve  the  Union.  What  sort  of  a  remedy  for  these  evils 
would  a  dissolution  of  the  Union  be  ?  We  should  then  have  no 
Fugitive  slave  law.  The  North  would  be  a  foreign  government, 
and  we  would  have  no  sort  of  claim  upon  it  to  return  our  fugi- 
tives. It  would  be  bringing  Canada  down  to  the  borders  of  the 
South.  Our  slaves  would  only  have  to  step  across  the  line,  and 
they  would  be  free.  In  the  Union  and  under  the  Constitution. 
we  have  the  right  to  demand  that  the  unconstitutional  enact- 
ments of  some  of  the  Northern  States,  in  regard  to  fugitive 
slaves,  shall  be  treated  as  nullities,  and  that  the  whole  force  of 
the  government  shall  be  employed  to  carry  into  execution  the 
law,  and  return  to  us  our  escaped  slaves.  The  disunionists 
instead  of  standing  firmly  upon  the  Constitution,  and  demanding 
our  rights  and  such  guaranties  as  will  insure  their  full  recogni- 
tion, propose  that  because  our  rights  have  hitherto  been  imper- 
fectly observed,  we  shall  surrender  to  our  enemies  the  very 
charter  by  which  they  are  secured,  as  well  as  the  army,  the 
navy,  and  all  the  physical  and  moral  power  by  which  they  are 
to  be  enforced.  How  is  it  with  regard  to  the  Territories  ?  I 
believe  that  soil,  climate  and  production  will  determine  the 
places  into  which  slavery  will  go,  no  matter  what  line  of  policy 
may  be  adopted.  But  suppose  that  this  is  an  error.  The  Territo- 
ries are  the  property  of  the  General  Government,  and  if  we  secede, 
go  out  of  the  government,  of  course  we  relinquish  all  legal 
right  of  property  in  the  Territories  as  well  as  all  claim  to  regu- 
late their  governments.  I  think  disunion  a  very  inadequate  remedy 
for  the  grievances  complained  of,  and  I  am  inclined  to  suspect 
that  the  originators  of  the  movement  to  divide  the  confederacy 
have  other  reasons  for  their  action.  South  Carolina  wishes  to 
gee  rid  of  a  tariff,  throw  her  port  open,  and  have  free  trade 
with  all  the  world,  so  as  to  build  up  a  great  importing  city  at 
Charleston.  That  may  be  very  advantageous  to  South  Carolina, 
but  how  is  it  to  benefit  us  ?  Again,  although  all  the  Southern 
States  are  alike  interested  in  the  preservation  and  protection  of 
the  institution  of  slavery,  yet,  the  interest  of  the  cotton  States, 


and  our  interest  in  that  institution,  are  in  one  particular  diame- 
trically opposite.  Our  interest  in  the  slave  is  his  price,  theirs 
his  labor.  We  estimate  him  by  what  he  will  bring  in  market, 
they  value  him  for  the  cotton  he  can  produce.  We  sell  slaves, 
they  buy  them.  It  is  to  our  interest  that  slaves  shall  be  high, 
it  is  to  their  interest  that  they  shall  be  cheap.  Many  persons 
think  that  to  carry  out  this  favorite  idea  of  getting  negroes  cheap, 
the  cotton  States  "would  like  to  re-open  the  African  slave  trade, 
and  we  all  know  how  destructive  to  the  value  of  our  slave  prop- 
erty such  a  measure  would  be.  But  we  are  told  now  that  there 
is  nothing  of  it.  Hands  are  held  up  in  holy  horror  at  the  idea 
that  such  a  charge  should  be  made.  But  while  I  believe  a  ma- 
jority of  the  southern  people  are  opposed  to  renewing  that 
traffic,  I  am  satisfied  there  are  many  politicians  in  the  cotton 
States  who  desire  it.  In  support  of  this  I  call  the  attention  of 
the  committee  to  the  remarks  of  Mr.  Yancy,  in  reply  to  Mr. 
Pryor,  made  in  the  Montgomery  Convention  about  two  years 
since.  As  my  friend  from  Hertford  (Mr.  Yeates)  has  kindly 
handed  me  the  paper,  I  will  read  an  extract  from  Mr.  Yancey's 
speech : 

"  I  insist  that  there  should  be  no  more  discrimination  by  law  against  the 
slave  trade  than  sgainst  the  nutmeg  trade.  Let  it  be  governed  by  the  law  of 
supply  and  demand  alone.  If  we  do  not  want  the  negroes,  then  do  not  have 
them  ;  if  we  do  wt.nt  them,  then  we  can  get  them.  I  think  this  ought  to  be 
governed  by  that  rule. 

"But  I  disagree  with  my  friend  from  Virginia  (Mr.  Pryor)  as  to  what 
would  be  the  effect  of  any  class  of  persons  engaging  in  this  trade.  I  do  not 
propose  to  re-establish  or  re-open  the  slave  trade,  but  I  propose  to  leave  our 
people  free  to  do  just  as  they  please  upon  this  question,  and  not  restrict  them 
by  any  national  law.  If  any  class  of  capitalists  in  the  South,  in  New  Eng- 
land, or  elsewhere,  choose  to  bring  a  cargo  of  slaves  into  a  Southern  port,  that 
is  a  right  which  they  ought  to  be  allowed  to  exercise.  Whether  they  shall 
sell  them  or  not  will  depend  upon  the  wants  of  the  community.  If  we  of  the 
South  want  these  negroes,  give  us  the  privilege  of  buying  them,  whether  in 
Africa,  Cuba  or  Brazil.     If  we  do  not  want  them,  then  we  will  not  buy  them. 

"Will  this  trade  depreciate  the  present  value  of  slaves?  I  think  it  is  a 
mistaken  idea.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  gentleman  from  Virginia  utterly  mis- 
understands the  want  of  the  Southern  planter,  when  he  seems  to  think  that  it 
whs  his  desire  for  high  prices  for  slaves.  This  is  a  purely  Virginia  idea.  We 
of  Alabama  want  slaves  to  be  cheap  :  we  want  to  buy  them,  not  to  sell  them. 
It  is  a  Virginia  idea  that  slaves  ought  to  be  high.  So  the  African  chief 
would  like  to  have  bis  barracoons  of  slaves  appraised  at  $2,000  each.  But 
we  who  want  to  go  there  and  buy  them  would  like  to  get  them  at  $50  each. 
Virginia  wants  $1,500  each  for  her  negroes, and  we  want  to  get  them  cheap-er. 
My  friend  from  Virginia  does  not  understand  the  wants  of  the  Southern  plan- 
ter as  to  labor.  He  wants  the  produce  of  the  labor  to  sell,  not  the  labor  it- 
self. It  is  the  value  of  the  produce  that  is  of  interest  to  him,  and  not  the 
value  of  the  labor  that  makes  that  produce.  While  every  one  who  wants  to 
-'■11  negroes  desires  a  high  price  for  them,  the  great  mass  of  the  planters  who 
buy  them  are  not  interested  in  the  high  prices  of  slaves,  but  are  rather  inter- 
-•  i  in  getting  them  cheap." 


I  leave  gentlemen  to  draw  their  own  inferences  from  Mr, 
Yancey's  remarks.  But,  sir,  if  the  African  slave  trade  is  not 
re-opened,  without  charging  the  cotton  States  with  such  a  de- 
sign, they  can  get  cheap  negroes  from  the  border  States^ 
With  a  hostile  anti-slavery  country  all  along  our  northern  frontier, 
and  a  constant  sense  of  insecurity  in  slave  property,  its  owners 
will  sell  at  any  price. 

And  then,  Mr.  Chairman,  what  community  of  feeling  is  there 
between  North  Carolina  and  South  Carolina  upon  the  subject  of 
the  Union?  South  Carolina  has  for  years  been  wishing  herself 
out  of  the  Union.  A  member  of  her  Convention  said,  the  other 
day,  after  the  secession  ordinance  had  passed,  that  they  had  now 
accomplished  what  every  son  of  "  Carolina  "  had  been  laboring 
for  during  the  last  thirty  years.  If  she  ever  loved  the  Union, 
she  has  long  since  lost  that  affection.  To  her  the  Union  is  the 
symbol  of  all  that  is  hateful.  We  have  been  taught  in  a  different 
school.  We  have  been  taught  that  the  existence  of  the  Union 
was  not  the  cause  of  our  wrongs.  We  have  been  taught  that 
although  beneath  its  glorious  arches  men  might  work  their 
crimes  and  plot  their  treason,  the  Union  itself  had  only  been 
over  us  to  protect  us  and  shower  upon  us  innumerable  blessings, 
We  have  been  accustomed  to  regard  it  as  a  precious  heritage 
won  for  us  by  our  ancestors  at  the  price  of  toil  and  blood.  We 
have  been  accustomed  to  consider  this  Union  as  the  great  temple 
of  liberty,  rising  in  this  free  land,  in  glorious  proportions,  till  its 
lofty  spires  and  princely  turrets  bathed  their  shadows  in  the 
waters  of  two  oceans,  within  whose  sacred  precincts  the  op- 
pressed of  all  lands  might  look  for  rest  and  peace ;  the  home  of 
the  homeless,  the  refuge  of  the  wanderer ;  within  whose  high 
hall  s  were  niched  the  statues  of  Washington,  and  Green,  and 
Marion,  and  Henry,  the  patron  saints  of  liberty's  religion,  and 
from  Avhose  myriad  choristers  solemn  strains  of  thankfulness 
went  ever  up  to  God  for  peace,  and  freedom,  and  happiness,  the 
like  of  which  the  sun  in  his  circuit  beheld  in  no  other  clime, 
Yes,  Mr.  Chairman,  North  Carolinians,  remembering  that  Wash- 
ington said  the  Union  was  to  be  regarded  as  the  palladium  of 
our  liberties,  have  ever  revered  it,  and  in  this  hour  of  its  peril 
their  devotion  is  steadfast.  But  in  South  Carolina  it  is  called 
the  accursed  Union.    She  will  shatter  the  accursed  Union,  if,  like 


10 

•.Sampson,  she  has  to  throw  her  arms  about  the  pillars  of  the 
temple,  and  bury  us  all  in  one  common  ruin.  Sir,  he  who  can 
entertain  and  deliberately  express  such  a  sentiment  as  that, 
Reserves  to  take  rank  in  his  country's  history  upon  the  dark 
page  which  holds  the  names  of  Aaron  Burr  and  Benedict 
Arnold. 

The  gentleman,  from  New  Hanover  said,  South  Carolina  had, 
and  was  entitled  to  his  sympathy.  I  also  sympathise  with  her 
as  a  Southern  State,  while  I  regret  and  condemn  her  hasty  and 
inconsiderate  action.  The  gentleman  also  told  us  that  when  we 
were  disposed  to  speak  harshly  of  South  Carolina,  we  should 
remember  that  she  came  to  our  assistance  as  far  back  as  1712, 
and  helped  us  to  fight  the  Indians.  I  trust  North  Carolina  has  not 
forgotten  that  assistance,  and  that  she  will  continue  to  remember 
it  gratefully.  But,  Mr.  Chairman,  there  are  also  some  things 
which  South  Carolina  ousdit  to  remember.     When  South  Caro- 

O 

linians  threaten  to  inflict  the  greatest  personal  indignity  upon  an 
aged  and  most  respectable  citizen  of  this  State,  merely  because  of 
an  expression  of  opinion,  and  when  they  write  to  the  Editor  of 
an  influential  journal  of  this  State,  "  we  despise  you  and  your 
cowardly  countrymen,"  they  ought  to  remember  that  in  the 
.lays  of  the  revolution,  North  Carolina's  best  blood  was  poured 
out  upon  her  soil  at  King's  Mountain  and  the  Cowpens  to  relieve 
her  from  British  oppression.  But,  sir,  there  are  States  of  this 
confederacy  with  whom  North  Carolina  has  identity  of  interest 
and  feeling.  Virginia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  all  the  cen- 
tral ^lave  raising  and  grain  producing  Southern  States,  have  in- 
terests and  feelings  in  common  with  us,  and  without  taking  time 
to  discuss  that  subject,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  declare,  that  if  there 
must  be  a  disruption  of  the  Federal  Government,  I  am  for  a 
Central  Confederacy. 

I  shall  now  consider  the  proposition  to  call  a  Convention  of 
the  people  to  consider  Federal  Affairs.  Circumstances  might 
arise  where  a  Convention  would  be  necessary,  but  I  have  been, 
and  am  still,  opposed  to  the  call  of  a  Convention  at  this  time. 
There  is  no  need  of  a  Convention  to  stay  in  the  Union.  Unless 
we  Siave  made  up  our  minds  to  go  out  of  the  Union,  what 
necessity  is  there  for  a  Convention  ?  If  I  agreed  with  the  gen- 
tleman from  New  Hanover,   who  says,   that  if  the  Convention 


11 

is  called  it  ought  to  pass  an  ordinance  declaring  the  State  of 
North  Carolina  out  of  the  Union,  with  or  without  the  co-opera- 
tion of  any  other  State,  then  I  should  need,  and  very  much 
desire,  a  Convention.  I  have  considered  a  Convention  part  of 
the  disunion  machinery  which  is  necessary  to  force  a  State  from 
her  accustomed  orbit,  and  drive  her  into  another  system.  It  is 
the  door  through  which  we  are  to  walk  out.  It  is  the  bridge  upon 
which  we  are  to  cross  the  Rubicon.  It  is  the  first  step  which 
every  State  that  desires  the  overthrow  of  the  Government  has 
taken.  Whatever  is  necessary  to  protect  us — whatever  we  need 
in  the  Union,  can  be  done  by  the  Legislature;  but  we  cannot  dis- 
solve the  Union.  We  cannot  sever  the  ties  that  bind  us  to  the 
Constitution  of  our  country.  It  takes  a  Convention,  the  disu- 
nionists  say,  to  do  that.  If  we  call  a  Convention,  a  fierce  and 
exciting  canvass  follows.  Whatever  disrespectful  and  abusive 
language  the  wildest  fanatics  at  the  North  have  uttered,  will  be 
paraded  and  repeated  to  our  people  as  a  fair  specimen  of  north- 
ern sentiment.  •  The  disunion  presses  of  this  and  other  States 
will  pour  their  streams  of  poison  upon  the  public  mind.  All 
that  can  arouse  passion — all  that  can  excite  prejudice — all  that 
can  weaken  the  love  of  the  people  for  our  country — will  be  at 
work  in  our  midst.  Why,  Sir,  South  Carolina  is  already  en- 
deavoring to  infuse  into  our  citizens  the  spirit  which  seems  to 
have  filled  them  with  a  sort  of  sectional  delirium.  I  hold  in 
my  hand  a"  pamphlet  which  has  been  extensively  circulated  in 
this  State,  entitled,  "  The  South  alone  should  govern  the  South." 
Along  with  some  arguments  in  favor  of  secession,  is  bundled  in 
it  all  the  most  offensive  things  which  Sumner,  Lovejoy,  Gid- 
dings  &  Co.  have  uttered  for  years,  carefully  collected  and  com- 
piled for  the  occasion,  intending,  doubtless,  that  southern  men 
shall  take  what  these  fanatics  and  traitors  have  uttered  as  the 
deliberate  sentiment  of  a  whole  section,  and  by  this  means,  to 
enrage  the  South  against  the  North.  Mr.  Chairman,  if  there 
is  one  creature  in  human  shape  baser  than  all  others,  it  is  the 
wretch  who  creeps  from  house  to  house  to  repeat  whatever  care- 
less or  ill-natured  remarks  he  may  hear  of  those  he  talks  to,  in 
order  to  beget  strife  and  hatred  in  peaceful  communities.  Yet, 
so  ar.xious  are  some  men  to  kindle  the  fires  of  sectional  hate  in 
bosoms  which  ought  to  glow  with  an  enlarged  and  liberal  patri- 


12 

otisni,  they  have  not  scrupled  to  make  themselves  the  tale- 
bearers of  the  miserable  abolitionists  I  have  mentioned.  Surely 
these  men  never  read  that  sacred  text  -which  says,  "  Blessed  are 
the  peace-makers,  for  they  -shall  be  called  the  children  of  God." 
There  is  another  reason  why,  as  a  Union  man,  I  have  distrusted 
the  call  of  a  Convention.  Every  secessionist  in  the  State,  I 
believe,  earnestly  desires  a  Convention.  Before  the  committee 
on  Federal  Relations  reported  to  the  House,  two  bills  had  been 
printed  and  laid  upon  our  tables.  One  was  introduced  by  the 
Senator  from  Burke,  the  other  by  the  Senator  from  Buncombe. 
They  are  both  honorable  men,  doing  what  they  conceive  to  be 
their  duty  in  this  crisis,  I  have  no  doubt.  But  they  have  been 
frank  in  letting  their  positions  upon  the  questions  of  the  day  be 
known.  I  see  it  reported  in  the  papers  that  the  Senator  from 
Burke,  some  days  ago,  declared  in  the  Senate,  that  in  his  opin- 
ion the  hour  had  arrived  when  there  ought  to  be  a  separation 
of  the  States  of  this  confederacy.  So,  too,  the  gentleman 
from  New  Hanover,  who  so  eloquently  advocated  a  Convention 
in  this  committee  on  yesterday,  thinks  North  Carolina  ought  to 
secede,  with  or  without  the  co-operation  of  any  other  State. 
Union  men  ought  to  pause  and  ponder  before  they  adopt  the 
measures  of  those  who  think  secession  ought  to  be  consummated. 
But  the  gentleman  from  New  Hanover  asks  if  we  distrust  the 
people  ?  No,  I  am  not  afraid  of  the  people.  If  I  feared  the 
people  on  this  question,  I  should  cease  to  labor  or  to  hope  for 
the  perpetuity  of  our  institutions.  But  the  people  have  placed 
us  here  to  look  after  their  interests  and  their  rights,  and  I  am 
willing  to  take  the  responsibility  of  performing  that  duty,  even 
in  this  crisis.  I  am  unwilling  that  the  din  and  roar  of  the  battle  we 
are  lighting,  shall  unnecessarily  be  carried  into  the  quiet  families 
and  peaceful  homes  of  my  constituents.  I  wish  to  reserve  the 
people  as  the  last  rallying  point,  the  last  rock  of  hope.  It  is 
among  the  people  that  the  Ark  of  the  covenant  of  our  liberties 
is  carried.  In  our  political  system  we  diverge  from  the  centre, 
and  find  in  the  great  circle  outside  the  politicians  and  politics, 
our  holiest  of  holies.  I  do  not  wish  to  invade  that  sacred  circle 
with  our  strife,  while  I  can  maintain  myself  here.  If  I  find 
that  I  am  to  be  overpowered  here — if  after  making  a  manly 
resistance,  I  shall  find  the  Union  forces  too  weak    to  cope  with 


13 

their  adversaries,  then  I  will  appeal  to  the  people  ;  then  I  will 
take  my  stand  upon  the  great  plain  of  popular  opinion,  and 
shoulder  to  shoulder  with  my  friends  and  my  neighbors,  fight 
the  last  great  battle  for  the  Union,  the  Constitution  and  the  pre- 
servation of  our  freedom.  The  gentlemen  from  New  Hanover 
says  the  cost  of  a  Convention  will  be  inconsiderable.  There  was  a 
different  tune  sung  to  me  last  summer,  by  those  who  were  opposed 
to  calling  a  Convention  to  amend  our  Constitution ;  but  if  I  thought 
ihe  proposed  Convention  would  tend  to  restore  harmony  to  the 
country,  I  would  not  count  dollars.  Believing  it  would  have  no 
such  effect,  I  am  unwilling  to  impose  a  useless  expense  upon  the 
people.  But,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  much  more  opposed  to  the  sub- 
stitute offered  by  the  gentleman  from  New  Hanover,  than  I  am  to 
the  original  bill.  I  am  opposed  to  it  from  the  very  consideration 
which  it  might  be  supposed  would  have  recommended  it  to  me — 
that  is,  that  it  is  an  open,  unrestricted  Convention,  in  which 
everything  may  be  considered.  If  a  Convention  is  to  be  called 
to  decide  whether  or  not  we  shall  go  out  of  the  Union,  I  want 
that  to  be  the  only  issue  presented.  I  do  not  wish  the  people's 
attention  to  be  drawn  from  the  main  question  by  side  issues. 
I  do  not  wish  delegates  elected  to  that  Convention  upon  any 
other  than  the  real  issue.  I  do  not  wish  some  returned  in  favor 
of  ad  valorem,  some  against  it;  some  for  a  change  in  the  basis 
of  representation,  (which  I  tell  gentlemen  is  irresistible  in  some 
counties  in  the  west,)  and  others  opposed  to  it;  others  upon  an 
amendment  as  to  the  status  of  free  negroes,  and  all  having  the 
opportunity  to  misrepresent  the  people  upon  the  great  issue  of 
Union  or  disunion.  There  is  danger  that  the  people  may  be 
mystified  and  deceived  by  such  a  multiplicity  of  issues.  If 
we  are  to  take  the  first  step  in  revolution,  if  we  are  to  call  the 
proposed  Convention,  I  wish  the  great  issue  submitted  by  itself  to 
the  people,  and  then  every  man's  position  upon  that  issue  will  be 
understood  by  them.  I  am  very  much  in  favor  of  Ad  Valorem  taxa- 
iton.  I  made  it  a  point  in  my  canvass  last  summer,  but  rather 
than  peril  the  existence  of  this  Union,  I  am  willing  to  give  up 
Ad  Valorem.  The  preservation  of  peace  and  the  perpetuity  of 
the  Union  ought  now  to  be  the  first  and  highest  aspiration  of  every 
patriotic  citizen.  But  I  have  another  objection,  much  more  power- 
ful with  me,  against  the  substitute  offered  by  the  gentleman  from 
New  Hanover.     There  is  no  provision  in  that  substitute  requir- 


14 

ing  the  action  of  the  Convention  to  be  submitted  to  the  people 
for  ratification  or  rejection.  A  great  deal  is  said  about  the  sov- 
ereign people  in  Convention.  That  is  the  theory,  but  in  reality  it 
is  not  the  sovereign  people  in  Convention,  it  is  only  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  delegates  of  the  sovereign  people  who  meet  and 
act  for  them.  Very  honest  men  may  be  elected  to  that  Con- 
vention, and  they  may  be  Union  men,  but  it  is  possible  that  after 
they  assemble,  extraneous  influences  may  be  brought  to  bear 
upon  them.  The  spirit  rappings  may  be  heard  in  their  hall:  sensa- 
tion movements  may  be  brought  to  bear  upon  them.  Blood  and 
thunder  "extras,"  from  disunion  presses,  may  be  circulated 
among  them,  and  they  may  swerve  from  the  positions  they  took 
before  the  people.  Instances  are  not  wanting  where  represen- 
tatives of  the  people  have  abandoned  the  principles  upon  which 
they  were  elected.  The  Chief  Magistrate  of  this  nation,  once 
after  his  inauguration,  abandoned  the  principles  he  had  advo- 
cated, and  betrayed  those  who  elected  him.  Humanity  is  fraiL 
Man  is  liable  to  err,  and  I  am  unwilling  to  trust  the  questions- 
that  are  to  decide  our  destiny  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  men, 
I  care  not  who  they  are.  I  will  never  agree  that  any  Convention 
shall  have  the  final  arbitration  of  the  fate  of  the  people  of  North 
Carolina.     Never!  never!!  never!!! 

Mr.  Person.  Will  the  gentleman  allow  me  to  interrupt  him 
for  a  moment. 

Mr.  Crumpler.     Certainly,  Sir. 

Mr.  Person.  I  ask  the  gentleman  if  he  believes  the  Leg- 
islature has  the  power  to  limit  the  action  of  a  Convention  of 
the  people  or  to  restrict  it  in  any  particular. 

Mr.  Crumpler.  I  believe  I  coincide  with  the  gentleman 
from  New  Hanver  as  to  the  abstract  question  of  power,  but  I 
think  the  restriction  in  the  original  bill  requiring  the  action  of 
the  Convention  to  be  submitted  to  the  people  was  a  wholesome 
provision,  which  no  delegate  to  that  Convention  could,  in  honor- 
disregard,  as  I  suppose  the  gentleman  from  New  Hanover  thought 
when  he  reported  that  bill  and  urged  its  passage  before  the 
Christmas  holidays.  It  is  true,  that  under  this  substitute  the 
Convention  might,  if  it  chose,  submit  its  action  to  the  people, 
but  if  an  ordinance  of  secession  were  passed,  they  might  think  the 
exigencies  of  the  times  would  forbid  such  a  course.  The  estab- 
lishment of  a  provisional  government  would  be  necessary — oiu~ 


15 

defence  would  have  to  be  looked  to,  and  that  question  of  time 
spoken  of  by  the  gentleman  from  New  Hanover  would  arise- 

Mr.  Person.  I  have  not  said  I  was  opposed  to  submitting 
the  action  of  the  Convention  to  the  people.  I  stated  that  I 
thought  the  action  of  the  Convention  ought  to  be  submitted  to 
the  people,  unless  a  question  of  time  should  arise. 

Mr.  Crumpler.     I  so  understood  the  gentleman,  and  I  have 
not  charged  that  he  was  opposed  to  submitting  the  action  of  the 
Convention  to  the  people,  but  if  that   Convention  passes  an 
ordinance  of   secession,  in  my  opinion,  the  question  of  time' 
will  be  sure  to  arise. 

Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  in  favor  of  the  substitute  offered  by  the 
gentleman  from  Alamance,  (Mr.  Mebane.)  I  am  in  favor  of  a 
National  Convention.  We  have  the  right,  under  the  5th  Art, 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  to  make  the  applica- 
tion for  a  National  Convention,  not  in  a  State  Convention,  but 
by  the  Legislature.  If  we  make  the  application,  I  have  no 
doubt  that  Virginia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  New  York,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  other  States,  in  number  sufficient,  would  second  the 
call  and  insure  the  assembling  of  the  Convention.  It  seems  to 
me  that  the  assembling  of  a  National  Convention  offers  more 
hope  for  a  peaceable  and  honorable  solution  of  our  difficulties 
than  anything  else.  The  gentleman  from  New  Hanover  thinks 
that  the  only  hope  is  for  a  re-construction  of  the  Government, 
He  says  if  all  the  slave  State?  will  withdraw,  we  can  then  pro- 
bably re-construct  the  Union.  Upon  the  same  idea,  the  only 
way  to  save  a  shattered  limb,  is  at  once  to  amputate  it.  Or,  if  a 
man  and  his  wife  quarrels,  the  first  step  towards  a  reconciliation  is 
a  decree  of  divorce.  Mr.  Cobb,  of  Georgia,  has  said  that 
heaven  had  already  pronounced  a  decree  of  divorce  between  the 
North  and  the  South.  I  think  heaven  has  had  very  little 
to  do  with  the  matter.  The  separation  itself,  as  well  as 
its  fruits,  will  savour  more  of  another  country,  which  shall 
be  nameless  here.  If  all  the  slave  States  go  out,  I  have  no- 
more  hope  of  a  reconstruction  of  the  Union,  than  I  would  have  of 
man  if  his  head  was  cut  off.  Some  of  the  cotton  States  want  a 
to  dissolve  the  Union,  for  the  sake  of  dissolution,  and  if  they 
can  get  enough  States  to  go  out  with  them  to  give  them  strength 
and  respectability,  they  will  never  agree  to  come  back.  No  Union 
man  ought  to  deceive  himself  with  the  idea  of  a  re-construction, 
But  the  gentleman  from  New  Hanover  thinks  there  is  no  hope  of 
saving  the  Union,  and  he  refers  to  the  failure  of  the 
Congressional  Committees  to  effect  a  compromise.  I  am  not 
surprised  at  the  failure  in  Congress.  I  concur  in  the  very 
sensible  and  patriotic  remarks,  made  some  time  since  by  the 
gentleman  from  Rockingham,  (Mr.  Galloway,)  upontkat  subject. 
The  Republicans  in  Congress  have  nurtured  and  encouraged  the- 
anti-slavery  excitement  at  the  North.     That  feeling  is  the  child 


10 

-of  these  politicians.    They  owe  their  place  and  power  to  its  ex- 
istence, and  it  is  trusting  too   much  I  fear  to  human  nature, 
especially  political  human  nature,  to  expect  them  to  yield  at 
once.     Reactions   in  popular  opinion,  in  a  crisis  like  this,  must 
be    sought  for    among  the    people.      A  reaction  is  evidently 
going  on  among  the  people  of  the  North,  and  I  have  no  doubt 
that  if  we  can  get  a  National  Convention,  with  delegates  fresh 
from  the  people  assembled,  the  best  results  might  be  looked  for. 
That   Convention,  feeling  the  responsibility    of   preserving  or 
destroying  this  great  republic,  and  the  fate  of  thirty  millions  of 
people  depending  on  its  action,  would  settle  our  difficulties  and 
restore  to  us  the  better  days  of  the  republic.     "We  ought  to 
make  the  effort.  I  tell  gentlemen  they  can  never  unite  our  people 
in  any  movement  to  dismember  the   Confederacy,  until  all  con- 
stitutional means  for  its  honorable  preservation  are  exhausted — 
until  at  least  one  honest  effort  is  made  to  preserve  it.     The 
value  of  the  Union  demands  that  the  effort  should  be  made. 
"The  horrors  of  the  war  that  will  follow  dissolution  demand  it. 
Those  horrors   I  shall  not  attempt  to  paint.     I  do  not  care  to 
speak  of  that  day,  when  we  shall  look  to  every  coiner  as  the 
messenger  of  evil  tidings,  of  that  day  when  the  mother  as  she 
hears  the  wind  sigh  around  her  dwelling,  and  rattle  at  the  case- 
ment, will  clasp  her  infant  to  her  bosom   in   pale  dread  of  the 
ruffian's  touch  and  the  assassin's  knife.     Each  man  for  himself  can 
better  imagine  the    scenes  of  those  calamitous  days  than  I  can 
portray  them,  and  each  one  know-  that  it  is  no  fancy  sketch,  but 
unless  the  tide  of  revolution  is  arrested,  the  horrible  picture 
will  soon  beflrawn  in  blood,  and  lighted  up  with  flame.     Let  us 
call  for  a  National  Convention.     Let  North  Carolina  lead  in  the 
movement.    She  is  a  modest  and  conservative  State,  but  in  the 
memorable  days  of  1775,  she  led  in  the  race  of  glory,  and  let  her 
now  add  to  the  honor  of  having  laid  the  corner  stone  of  this 
great  republic,  the  honor  of  making  the  first  movement  for  its 
preservation.     I  think  the  Union  can  yet  be  preserved.     If  we 
can  escape  the  shipwreck  that  threatens  us,  there  is  hope  in  the 
future.    Look  through  the  clouds  and  behold  the  light  that  breaks 
upon  the  prospect.  I  can  see  it.  Lincoln's  administration  is  power- 
less to  liarm  us.     "Before  its  close,  his  party  will  be  scattered  into 
fragments.     In  the  meantime,  the 'conservative  element  of  the 
■country  will  rally  to  a  common  standard,  and  in  another  contest 
.achieve  the  victory.     Let  us  labor  for  this  result,  and  even  if  we 
do  fail,  and  in  civil  war  we  are  called  on  to  die  upon  some  gory 
fleld  far  from  home  and  kindred,  it  will  not  be  unpleasant  to  reflect 
in  the  last  hour,  that  we  strove  to  avert  the  ruin  of  our  country. 
And  if  success  crowns  our  efforts,  to  the  latest  day  of  our  lives 
we  will  enjoy  the  satisfaction  of  having  contributed  our  humble 
assistance  in  transmitting  to  posterity  the  blessings  of  this  great 
.and  free  government,  founded  by  our  fathers. 


Photomount 

Pamphlet 

Binder 

Gay  lord  Bros. Inc. 

Makers 
Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

PAT.  JAM  21,  1308 


0003272 

FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 
THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


Form  No.  A-368,  Rev.  8/95 


